Chapter 15: Darla

Her golden hair was spread over his arms and chest and some had fallen across her face. He lifted a strand and smelled it. He closed his eyes. The lavender smell reminded him of… home. What was he doing? She was so soft and beautiful and adorable. Thinking about that made his erection grow to a painful level. For a moment he contemplated how her lips would feel if he kissed them. His eyes became heavy-lidded just thinking about them and how they resembled the rose petals in his garden at Draoidh. He shifted beneath her.

Anastasia suddenly stiffened against him. He thought that she had again moved in her sleep and he groaned as his cock jerked. But the girl stiffened against his body. Was she awake?

"Oh no!" Anastasia gasped and pushed her hands against him to get up. She didn't know what it was that was poking her so hard on her belly, giving off heat like a furnace. She cried out and then rolled beside him, mortified as hell. "S— sorry!" she blabbered.

Ileus bent over her and clutched her shoulders. "Breathe, Anastasia," he said gently in order to stop her from waking the others up.

She whimpered and then nodded. She took a deep breath and looked away, her cheeks a scarlet red and her mind numb like ice.

She looked back up at him. He stared into her sapphire blue eyes and she held that stare. Her world stopped until he left her and got up.

"This— I— I—" she babbled something incoherent and got up too.

Within the next hour, everyone had woken up and they were moving forward to Óraid. She was once again sitting in front of Ileus, who had circled his hands around her protectively to hold the reins. Sitting straight, trying her best not to lean on to him, she focused her attention on the landscape in front of her. The mist had rolled away and the sky was a brilliant blue against the snow-white forest. Anastasia took in a lungful of pristine air and closed her eyes. She had never been subjected to so much beauty. Cold air stung her cheeks so she pulled her sweater closer to her face. She was surprised at how quiet everything seemed and the only sound that she could hear was that of the hooves over the dirt road. The smell of the damp pine and aspen trees made the air fresh and clean. She felt as if she was experiencing something magical.

As the horses trod the path, she noticed the ice crystals hanging from the trees. They refracted the sunlight endlessly.

Ileus passed her some bread to eat. It tasted so bland but she ate it nonetheless. The whole group had decided to eat whilst riding. The horses had rested well and they didn't want to stop because according to Kaizan if one vampire had smelled them, there were chances that more would come. It was best to get as far away as they could as soon as possible.

Since the path had narrowed, they all rode in single file now. Anastasia took another bite of the bland bread and peered to her left. She saw how the snow was glistening off the slopes of the mountains that were in the distance. She had never known that Sgiath Biò was such a beautiful yet terrifying place. Why was the forest a home to so many rogues? Why hadn't Aed Ruad done anything to get rid of the rogues? That led her to think about Nyles' behavior yesterday night. The girl was just too scared. She sighed.

"You can lean on me Anastasia," he said softly in her ear. "I know you are not used to riding a horse and I don't want you to get sick."

She swallowed saliva down her dry throat as his sexy voice churned a nest of butterflies in her stomach. "I— I am fine," she said. How could she forget that morning's mortifying incident ?

He must have exhaled heavily because his breath suddenly warmed her neck.

Even though she tried to remain stiff, with every passing hour of the day, she found herself getting closer to Ileus. She resigned to her fate. Her back was aching like hell and when she finally leaned on him, she almost groaned with relief. He adjusted her against his back and moved his thighs closer to hers to steady her. She didn't want to think of their closeness at all, but that was what she started analyzing.

"Relax," he said as if understanding her predicament.

Yes, she should relax, she thought. After all this would be over the moment they reached Óraid. She would thank them and then go on her way to The Tide of Bromval. For the moment—she loved being cradled in his strong arms. His hands occasionally touched her thighs through the layers of clothing, the sensation was… foreign.

It was afternoon when they all stopped again to rest because Nyles had been complaining and whining about her injured arm.

When the horses were tied to the trees and they all found logs to sit on, Ileus said to yet another soldier, "Carrick, just see that she doesn't bleed more. Change her bandage."

Carrick nodded and he took out the medicine box from his kit. He walked to where Nyles was sitting… alone. She was still whining away to no one in particular.

Anastasia now knew all the soldiers' names—Zlu, Guarhal, Carrick, Aidan and Tadhg.

Ileus walked to where Kaizan and the rest of the men were standing, but Darla came to sit next to Anastasia.

Anastasia was surprised. There was lightness in her chest at the possibility of conversation with the woman who hadn't spoken to her since the beginning of the journey. She gave her a warm smile that wasn't returned.

Darla was holding a twig in her hand and she played with it while sitting beside her as if trying to prepare herself to talk to her. She took a deep breath and turned to look at her.